Today’s Workout: Plank move is beneficial for your whole body

Marlo Alleva More Content Now

Friday

Apr 6, 2018 at 1:01 AM

Remember when planking anywhere and everywhere was all the rage? The novelty for all the social media pictures may have worn off, but planking is still very much in style and so beneficial.Performing a plank, or any variation of, is great for the whole body. It is one of those moves that can be done anywhere. All you need is a flat surface. This exercise will tone your chest, shoulders, triceps, abdominals, quads, hamstrings and calves. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Begin by placing both hands on the floor, just under your shoulders. Straighten the arms and lengthen your body out to hold your weight on your toes. Focus on rolling your shoulders back and down, lifting your chest, and tightening your core by rolling the hips forward. Keep the legs extended, squeezing your glutes and pressing your navel upward.

Once you get your body in position, simply hold the plank for as long as you can. This move has variations to suit varied physical abilities as well. You can drop to your knees to give your arms a rest, even lift the rear end higher to give your core a break.

This move is great on its own as it targets so many muscle groups, but can be combined with any other workout.

— Marlo Alleva, an instructor at Gold’s Gym and group fitness coordinator at Fontaine-Gills YMCA, in Lakeland, Florida, can be reached at faluvzpa@msn.com.

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